Total pages in book: 13
Estimated words: 11879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 59(@200wpm)___ 48(@250wpm)___ 40(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 11879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 59(@200wpm)___ 48(@250wpm)___ 40(@300wpm)
I roll to my side and look over at him. All I can see is his outline; I can’t see his face. “I don’t have anyone. Not really. My mom died last year, and it was only me and her. I guess that’s why I think what you’re doing here is amazing. And well, I work at the bar because it was the best paying job I could find in town. After Mom passed, I quit college and have been working since.”
He leans forward in the chair and puts his elbows on his knees. His face is now lighted by the moon shining in from the window. The pity in his expression is almost too much for me to bear. I get it all the time, anytime someone hears my story. But I don’t want pity. Not now, and not from him.
“Well, you’re not alone now. You have a club of brothers that would lay their lives down for you. Without question.”
“Is that really how this works? So you’re my ‘brother’ now?” I ask him quietly, waiting for his response.
He cracks his knuckles and then brings them together. “Yes, that’s honestly how this works, without question. However, I feel like I need to tell you that nothing I’m feeling toward you is brotherly.”
I try to fight it, but I can’t stop it. A smile forms on my lips and I hope that he can’t see it in the darkness. “Okay.” I roll back over onto my back. “Good night, Brick.”
He sighs. “Good night, princess.”
“Hey, Brick?”
“Yeah?” He settles further into the chair.
“What’s your real name… or is Brick your real name?” I ask him. Not that Brick doesn’t suit him. It definitely does.
“Ben. My birth name is Ben.”
I turn my head toward him. “Ben. Can I call you that?”
He seems to think about it for a minute and then finally agrees. “In here, or when it’s just the two of us, you can call me Ben. When we’re out there, with my brothers, I need you to call me Brick.”
I quietly tell him okay. “Hey, uh, how old are you?”
He chuckles and the deepness of it vibrates in the room. “I’m thirty-two. Is that too old for you, princess?”
I stutter, but answer him honestly, “No, I wasn’t asking because of that. I was just wondering.”
“How old are you?”
I put my hands behind my head and look up at the ceiling. “I’ll be twenty-two next month.”
“So I’m ten years older than you. Does that bother you?”
I tilt my head to the side to look at him and wish I could see his face. “Why would it bother me? I’m leaving here tomorrow, Ben.”
“Keep thinking that, princess.”
Frustrated, I throw my hands into the air. “Why do you keep calling me that? I don’t act like a princess. I’m actually one of the least high maintenance women I know.”
His answer is gruff. “I don’t mean anything by it. It’s just a reminder to myself that you’re different. More different than any woman I’ve ever met. You deserve to be treated better than how I usually treat a woman.”
I’m surprised by his answer. I thought for sure he was calling me that for another reason. I lift up on my elbow. “How do you normally treat women?”
I’m skeptical even as I ask him. The way he’s treated me has been like a pure gentleman. I can’t imagine him treating a woman poorly.
“Let’s just say, women have only served one purpose for me. And I don’t lie to them about it. They know from the get-go where they stand.”
“And I’m different?” I ask him, surprised by his answer.
“You’re definitely different.”
“Well, I’ve never known a princess to beat a man over a head with a baseball bat. I’m just sayin’.” I huff at him and turn over. I don’t realize it until it comes out of my mouth that I’m practically begging him to treat me like one of his other women, a one-night stand. I bite my lip and roll my eyes.
“Good night, princess.”
“Night,” I mutter.
Brick
Hours later, I’m stuck in a nightmare of my own, but the screams this time are different. It’s not the voices of my comrades, but the voice of Madison.
I jolt awake and about fall to the ground when I jump out of the chair. “Madison, Madison,” I say to her while I try to wake her up.
The initial scream has turned into cries and I frantically try to wake her up. When her eyes finally open they’re wide, and I see fear in their depths.
“It’s okay, honey. I’m here. You’re okay. No one is going to hurt you,” I tell her. I sit down on the bed next to her and stroke her head.
She staring at me, and I hope I’m not scaring her even more.
“Brick, will you lay down with me?” she asks me.